Parliamentary committee passes Housing Bill

The Development and Technology Committee of the House of Representatives today passed with revisions a report on the bill presented by a sub-committee on managing appropriate and safe shelter to every citizen. A meeting of the committee decided to forward the bill with provisions to providing housing facilities by prioritizing homeless persons and families through mutual coordination among the federal, provincial and local level governments and based on the available means and resources. The committee has been discussing the bill on the right to shelter for some time now. The right to shelter is one of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of Nepal. It is stated in the bill that a person who does not own land in his/her or his/her family's name within the territory of Nepal or who is unable to manage shelter from the family earning, resources or efforts and those persons displaced due to natural disasters would be given priority while providing shelter. Although the exact numbers of homeless people in the country is not known, it is estimated that around 6.5 million people do not access to safe shelter. Minister for Urban Development Mohammad Ishtiak Rai said that the bill has guaranteed shelter to every homeless Nepali citizen. It also includes the topic of moving the unsafe settlements vulnerable to inundation, floods and landslide to safer areas, he added.

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